Longest Hike Yet, Concert & Quiet Halloween
[Photos taken 17-31 October 2021, posted online 30 January 2022. Snow on the ground, it keeps coming and going, just a little here and there.]
The latter part of October was dominated by the first the thought of, then the doing of, and then the recovery from, the longest hike (16 km) of the hiking group yet, which just happened to end up quite close to house #2. Rarely has a hot tub soak been more welcomed!
There was bowling, Anna and I went to an actual concert, Emma went in for dental surgery, our internet was upgraded to fiber, shopping happened, farm animals were visited, we went ice-skating, and Anna discovered the power of driving her sister around to collect candy for Halloween (85-ish images total)
Sunday 17 October 2021
An Autumn Wedding & Outdoors-ing
[Photos taken 01 – 16 October 2021, posted online 29 January 2022. Covid is in the house, but the timing of human interactions was such that it made sense for Finnur & Emma to move and hide from the rest of us in our old apartment at Finnur’s parents’ place, while I held down the covid home-fort with Bjarki & Anna who by this point have both contracted it.]
October’s social highlight was without a doubt a long-planned wedding in Finnur’s family (photographed by yours truly), which happily fit snugly in between covid-waves, and nobody got infected!
There was also a birthday party on my side of the family, autumn colors became all the rage, the sun got less and less inclined to shine on us, work hosted a clean-up day, some gardening happened, the gym was visited repeatedly, I went on an evening hike which I really need to repeat in brighter times, and then we hung out with some friends in the country. (35-ish images total)
Friday 01 October 2021
Hikes, Hail & Housework
[Photos taken 15 – 30 September 2021, posted online 16 January 2022. A little bit of snow outside, brightening up the sullenly dark sky. About a month to go until daylight really gets going.]
My organized walking group met up twice in the latter part of September. First was an evening walk out in Hvalfjörður, and the second was a whole-day excursion up and down Kvígindisfell.
Meanwhile, daily life plodded ahead. House #2 got visits, school hobbled along (I can’t even remember if and what kind of restrictions were in place), the first hail came and went, I tried aqua-zumba, kept visiting the gym now and again, and even went to the theater! (85-ish images total)
Wednesday 15 September 2021
New Roof, Swimming & Socializing
[Photos taken 01 – 14 September 2021, posted online 15 January 2022. The screen of my personal laptop has died, and is too crazy expensive to fix. Covid-19 regulations have been tightened yet again (now at 10 people max gatherings, but with numerous exceptions) as daily cases hover in the 1200 range, and the hospital system is slowly but surely being submerged.]
The month of September began with our roof being replaced, as the roof on the other side of our duplex kept leaking.
I began visiting the local swimming pool again to try and release the tension from my back and shoulders after sometimes working at the actual office (the two different work-setups seemed too much to handle). I met with both sewing clubs, and made it out for a couple of jogs. Bjarki got his second shot, the garden started sleeping, and the weather became less fun. (50-ish images total)
Wednesday 01 September 2021
Regular Life Rhythm Restart
[Photos taken 16 – 31 August 2021, posted online 23 December 2021. Record number of Covid-19 infections yesterday, restrictions have been moved down to 20 persons per room, 200 max and masked at organized seated events with official negative rapid-test, and 2 m distancing instead of 1 m. Zero snow on the ground, and the officially-no-longer-erupting volcano is shaking again. Never a dull moment!]
With summer vacation from work officially over, life began resuming some sort of a rhythm.
In the spring, Emma had managed to squeeze out of me a week of half-days at a “petting-zoo” in Mosfellsbær (a 20 minute drive from our house) so this first week back at work involved a lot of driving. Thankfully, Anna now has a driving license, so we split up driving duties.
With covid-19 levels running rather high, but waning, Finnur and I worked mostly from home. Walks were taken, the garden was harvested, parties were attended (!), we filled house #2 to the rafters with people one night, Bjarki got vaccinated, schools restarted, and I caught some cold or other that was not covid. (45-ish images total)
Monday 16 August 2021
Vacation (Zero)Whale-Watching, Riding & 2nd Hike
[Photos taken 13-15 August 2021, posted online 19 December 2021. It’s still 8C/45F out, diagnosed covid-cases are again ominously close to breaking daily records, new regulations expected this week.]
Finnur returned to work mid-week, as he’d started his vacation a little ahead of me, but I still had a few more days and a strong need to Do Something.
The newspaper had a report that whale-sightings had been going unusually well, so I booked our first whale-watching tour ever. The weather was excellent, sun and no wind, but apparently all the sea mammals were done showing off, and we only saw one pod of dolphins that zoomed past and were in no mood to play, and one minke whale that also scampered off quickly. Deeming the tour a ‘miss’, the operator gave us free tickets for another ride good for two years, which can also be used sailing out from Akureyri in the north.
The following day we tried out yet another horse rental operator, this time by the edge of the city area. They offered a three-hour ride for experienced riders and a two-hour ride for novices, departing an hour apart, so that suited us well. Again the weather was exceptionally good!
On the last day of my vacation I went on my first long-ish hike with the walking group, 12 km/7.5 miles, which took up most of the day. It was really fun! (60-ish images total)
Friday 13 August 2021
Vacation Park-Life, Staining & 1st Hike
[Photos taken 09 – 12 August 2021, posted online 18 December 2021. It’s unseasonably warm outside (7C/45F), and we await the oncoming Omicron Covid storm, while crossing fingers we don’t end up in quarantine over the holidays.]
Our last week on vacation arrived way to quickly, and the weather forecast was good enough that Finnur had reason to stain wood at house #2, and me at house #1. The kids were told to hang out with the friends so we had time to work!
We did make it to the farm-animal and family park, Bjarki’s room renovation project continued, I slathered wood-oil on some of our fence and decks, and I went on my first formal hike with the hiking group I signed up with. (35-ish images total)
Monday 09 August 2021
Vacation Swim, Horses, Forest & Room Renovation
[Photos taken 01 – 08 August 2021, posted online 12 December 2021. We had snow, but now it’s almost all gone. Also, I hitchhiked with two friends to Tenerife for a week in November, and just didn’t have the energy to touch my laptop while there.]
Of course, as luck would have it, Covid-19 cases began ballooning in Iceland just as Anna finally went on vacation. Again, for the second summer in a row, it put a big damper on making and executing any travel plans.
We managed to do a bit of work at house #2, I took the kids swimming, on a forest walk, and then organized two simultaneous (slightly overly complicated) horse-rental outings. Back in town we went bowling, and then I began renovating Bjarki’s bedroom as he’s firmly a proper teenager now. (70-ish images total)
Sunday 01 August 2021
Vacation Weeding & Housework
[Photos taken 21 – 31 July 2021, posted online 31 October 2021. Happy Halloween!]
Bjarki’s summer job ended on 21 July, but Anna’s would go on through the end of July. We therefore signed Emma up for some more horse camp, and just … didn’t do much at all.
Finnur skipped between town and house #2 to oil/stain wood, I weeded as much as my sanity allowed, and managed a few little projects on the side like hemming curtains (sooo exciting!) and planning to upgrade Bjarki’s room. I got wasps killed, and went in for a covid-19 test, just to be sure. (75-ish images total)
Wednesday 21 July 2021
Parental Vacation: Víðgelmir, Húsafell & Krauma
[Photos taken 19 – 20 July 2021, posted online 30 October 2021. Pumpkins appear to be sold out in Iceland, might have to carve out watermelons this year!]
Our good friends, Adda and Halli, had a treasure trove of gift cards that were either expired or about to expire (but all still magically valid because of Covid-19) that all centered around the area of Húsafell. They asked if we’d be their (adults only) travel partners, and, after securing a sleepover for Emma, we said yes!
That Monday I hitched a ride with them to Húsafell, where we met Finnur, who’d packed up house #2. We drove over to the cave site of Víðgelmir, went on a cave walk, drove back to Húsafell, checked into the hotel proper, enjoyed the ridiculously good weather playing Rummikub on the patio, before eating dinner at the hotel restaurant.
Afterwards, I was so stuffed I desperately needed to move, so I went on an evening walk around the area in the gorgeous evening sun, while the others chatted and chilled.
The next day we drove towards the hot tub spa of Krauma, stopping on the way by the pretty lava-side waterfalls (Hraunfossar/Barnafossar). At Krauma we hung out in the hot tubs, and then ate a late lunch before driving back to civilization and parental responsibilities. (70-ish images total)
Monday 19 July 2021
